The brand-new Universal Helios Grand Hotel opened in April 2025, welcoming guests to a romantic, upscale vacation experience. From the moment you step inside, you’re transported to a Mediterranean getaway with beautiful stone walls, high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, gelato samples, and a Helios statue overlooking your dedicated entrance to Epic Universe.
Pack your suitcase, choose your theme park dates, and get ready for one of the most epic, romantic Orlando hotels!
Universal Helios Grand Hotel
8505 S Kirkman Rd, Orlando, FL 32819
Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel, features 500 guest rooms, including 35 suites, a Club Level Guest Lounge, and a beautiful rooftop lounge, Bar Helios.
Walking into the hotel lobby, one of the first things I noticed was how open, spacious, and well-lit it was. The starry speckled floors lead to a beautiful open lobby lounge overlooking Celestial Park, as well as the check-in desk, restaurant, and market. The stunning views begin the moment you walk in, and sometimes a team member will greet you with a sweet gelato sample in the lobby.
Keep in mind that to stay at Helios Grand, an Epic Universe theme park ticket is not required (though it does enhance your experience). Book everything online, via chat, or on the phone with a representative. For a Florida resident discount, be sure to check the “Florida resident” box online or notify a representative. You could save between 10% and 25%, depending on the time of year and current offers.
Pick up printed park tickets in the lobby at the Vacation Planning Center. Store the ticket in a fun, themed ticket holder lanyard, or scan it in the Universal Orlando Resort app to add it to your digital wallet.
During your stay, you can charge hotel and park purchases to your hotel room. You can also request that park purchases be delivered to the hotel. Merchandise delivery comes in handy when you want to go on rides or walk around with your hands free, without having to store everything in a locker.
Epic Universe Access
Located on the Epic Universe property, there’s a dedicated entrance on the ground level and access to early park admission. You can easily enter and exit the park to get back to the hotel at any time during park hours, and you’ll go through security each time.
For our anniversary, my husband and I made reservations at the Atlantic restaurant. We dressed up and walked into Epic Universe that night, had a great dinner near the water, and rode the Constellation Carousel.
Then, we walked back to the hotel, changed into casual clothes, re-entered the park, and watched the Cosmos Fountain Show on the steps near the fountain.
For early park admission, we recommend going to the dedicated park entrance 30 to 60 minutes before the early park admission time. After going through security, hotel guests seem to line up inside the park, just past the hotel park entrance bridge, to be let in and run to their favorite land, and are sometimes allowed in a few minutes before the official early park admission.
There’s a complimentary bus shuttle that runs about every 15 minutes to and from CityWalk to get to Universal Studios Resort and Islands of Adventure, as well as Volcano Bay. Check with the hotel to confirm shuttle start and end times.
Things to Do
You could spend a whole day at Helios Grand Hotel without leaving the hotel if you wanted to, thanks to the high-quality food and fun activities.
On-site Hotel Play
Outside of the parks, sit by the pool, which features underwater speakers, lounge chairs, a hot tub, a bar with food and drinks, ping pong and other games, poolside movies, a firepit area, and private cabanas for rent.
Tap into your competitive side in the game room. You’ll purchase a game card and then swipe it to play each game, including basketball, claw machine, Mario Kart, Jurassic Park, SpongeBob SquarePants VR coaster, and more. The game room is great for a rainy day or to slow things down at the end of the day and let out any leftover energy.
Even with all of the park walking, stay active at the fitness center, with free weights, various weight machines, and cardio equipment.
For a comfy night in, order room service and eat by the window. There’s usually a chair and table in the room, and you can pull up one of the other chairs for your night-in date. If you have a park view room, you can watch the Cosmos Fountain Show each night right from your window.
Otherwise, walk down to the lobby or step outside near the Helios flaming arrow statue between 9:50 pm and 9:55 pm for a spectacular view of the show at 10 pm.
Dining Options
The food options are outstanding, with four dining spots at the hotel: Flora Taverna, Bar Helios, Lotus Lagoon, and Aurora Market.
Flora Taverna
Flora Taverna serves Mediterranean comfort food, with a buffet breakfast to kick off the day and sit-down lunch and dinner options in a beautiful setting, featuring an elegant floral ceiling decor piece. With many seating options, you can dine inside at a table or at the bar, or outside at a table overlooking Epic Universe.
Bar Helios
Bar Helios, the rooftop lounge with 360-degree views of Epic Universe, serves dinner and cocktails. We recommend making a reservation as it tends to fill up quickly, and non-hotel guests may be visiting.
Once inside Bar Helios, look up, and you’ll see the celestial theme on the ceiling, including the names of some Universal team members written in Greek. Using an app such as Google Translate and Google Lens will show you the clever translation on your phone.
The food throughout the hotel tastes outstanding. At Bar Helios, we split the mezze and spreads for an appetizer, and each had the crunchy crab cake for dinner.
Lotus Lagoon
Venturing out to the pool, the Lotus Lagoon serves wings, pita and dips, and crab cakes for appetizers. For the main course, choose from fish & chips, kebabs, and flatbreads. To cool off, order a sweet dessert as well as signature and frozen cocktails (with or without alcohol), beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages. You can order and eat at the bar, or have your order delivered to your lounge chair by the pool.
Aurora Market
For a Starbucks coffee, quick bite, or snack, Aurora Market offers grab-and-go options. You can also pick up breakfast sandwiches, croissants, cakes, paninis, wraps, salads, gelato, chips, and more at the market.
Just outside the market near the Helios statue, you’ll find tables and chairs to enjoy the park sights and sounds. It’s a great way to kick off the morning while you prep for your big park day, or to end the evening with the park glowing behind you.
Views from the Room
When booking your room, you’ll have a few options: standard, pool view, skyline view, theme park view, deluxe, club, and suites.
Club Level rooms include access to the Club Level Guest Lounge on the ninth floor, as well as the following perks:
- Complimentary coffee, assorted teas, and soft drinks
- Daily continental breakfast and a snack
- For guests 21+, hot and cold hors d'oeuvres with complimentary beer and wine
- A sweet treat each night
- TV viewing area and board games lending library
With a suite, you’ll have the following options:
- How to Train Your Dragon Kids' Suite, featuring a king bed for parents, and a separate kids’ room with two themed twin beds
- King Suite
- Celestial Suite
- Helios Grand Suite
- Hospitality Suite
- Presidential Suite
Theme Park View
We booked a theme park view room, and one of our favorite parts was hearing Epic Universe open with its epic music and welcome messages, then later in the evening, coming back to watch the fountain show and park close (when we weren’t inside Epic Universe!).
We watched the Cosmos Fountain Show from the window, and then watched some of the rides that continued to run, such as Mine-Cart Madness, “jumping” the tracks, and Stardust Racers, zooming through the night.
The park fixtures tend to stay lit up, and the sun rises over the park-view rooms, so we’d recommend closing the drapes and curtains if you’d prefer to rest without all the light. For privacy, the hotel also stays on-theme with a “Counting Stars” do-not-disturb sign.
Helpful Hints
Earn & Save with the Universal Rewards Visa Signature® Card
For additional perks, you can earn points and save on Universal purchases with the Universal Rewards Visa Signature® Card. You’ll receive 10% off select food, beverages, and merchandise in CityWalk and Universal theme parks (yes, including Epic Universe).
Be sure to show or mention your credit card at store checkout, and when you dine, to ensure you receive the discount.
There are two credit cards: Universal Rewards Plus (annual fee) and Universal Rewards (no fee). With the Plus card, you’ll earn 4 times the points per dollar on qualifying Universal purchases, and you’ll have access to the Visa® Everywhere Lounge within Universal Studios. With the regular Rewards card, you’ll earn 2 times the points per dollar on qualifying Universal purchases, and you won’t have access to the lounge.
Redeem points for a statement credit toward Universal purchases, a Fandango gift card, or a prepaid card to pay for Universal purchases. Keep in mind, you'll receive a physical prepaid card in the mail, so unfortunately, it’s not an instant digital gift card.
Also, when we stayed at the Universal Helios Grand Hotel, the hotel did not offer discounts on hotel purchases with the Universal credit card. Keep an eye out in case this changes in the future, and maximize your offers.
Universal Orlando Resort App
Stay in the know during your trip with the Universal Orlando Resort app. You can check park hours, maps, and ride wait times, set alerts for wait times and ride openings, jump in virtual queues, make dining reservations, order food and drinks at restaurants, and keep your wallet organized with park tickets, passes, and payment methods in the app. Check out the free app in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Hotel Technology
This hotel helps you stay connected with a tablet on the bedside table. You can order room service, adjust the room lighting, A/C controls, drapes and curtains, and log in to streaming platforms or chat with customer service. If you’d prefer to unplug during your staycation, disregard the tablet during your stay.
Book Your Stay at Universal Helios Grand Hotel
Ready for an immersive and romantic experience? Plan your epic park days and romantic staycation at Universal Helios Grand Hotel. The earlier you book, the more you’ll save on your vacation package.
Cozy up with your favorite person at this elevated, unforgettable hotel, and have an epic stay!
Universal Helios Grand Hotel
8505 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(689) 218-1000
Hotel website
Parking Info
For parking, self-parking at the garage costs $36 (plus tax) per vehicle, per night, and valet parking costs $45 (plus tax) per vehicle, per night. Day parking for visitors will cost $125 for self-parking and $128 for valet. However, self-parking can be validated with a $75 minimum spend at Bar Helios (only valid for day guests).
